Bonhams has been organizing its Paris sale since 2012 in probably one of the most prestigious places in Paris, the Grand Palais. Called Les Grandes Marques du Monde au Grand Palais, this sale is very interesting just before Retromobile, offering a very diverse selection of automobilia, cars, and motorbikes from all eras, all countries, in an ideal environment to take a closer look at these beauties. Since we were in Paris for the first year, a trip to the Grand Palais was an obligation for two of our members. And here’s our short resumé of our experience of the auction viewing. Text : Mickaël B. © Images : Luca W. ©
First lot to catch our attention is one of the first Porsche model ever produced, a matching numbers 356 A 1600S Coupé, chassis 105921, with engine 616/2-83048, lot 410. Freshly restored in Aquamarine blue, with a red leather interior it looked fantastic, especially with the grilles covering the headlights and the leather straps for the front bonnet. Thanks to the 1600 S Specification original car engine, it developed 75 horsepower. It had been slightly modified from its original state of delivery though with the interior featuring Carrera seats and a roll-over bar. Mechanically, the drum brakes had been replaced with hydraulic disc brakes, a close gear ratio gearbox, a new fuel tank, new larger carburetors and lightened pistons had been fitted. It was sold for 105’800 € including buyers premium.
Next up was lot 371, a matching numbers Series 4 Aston Martin DB4 Saloon GT Coupé, wearing chassis 886/L and engine 0209GT. This originally delivered left hand drive twin-plug cylinder head powered DB4 is one of only three Series 4 with these specifications. The twin plug cylinder head and the three 45DCOE Weber carburetors allowed the DB4 GT to develop just over 300 horsepower, a performance which put it at the same level than Ferrari’s 250 GTO in 1962. Sadly though, the British sports car could never really compete against its Italian rival because of its too heavy weight. Delivered new in 1962 with the optional GT dashboard and a Bray block heater, it had a claimed three owners from new and had had an extensive complete recent restoration including a bare metal respray in Newport’s Pagnell official color at the time, Deep Carriage Green and new Connolly leather interior. It was sold for 1’184’500 € including buyer’s premium.
Bonhams had brought, just as RM Auctions a very significant Porsche Le Mans group C car, a 962. Succeeding to the 956 model, such as the one we had seen at RM Auctions the day ago, this example, chassis 006BM was built in 1989 by TC prototypes for private swiss team Brun Motorsport, who built eight cars in total. Allan McNish, famous Le Mans endurance series driver for Audi amongst others, drove chassis 006 back in 2010 and said : “This car gives a lot of confidence straight away. In a few laps I’m ready to start pushing. With loads of mechanical grip and excellent traction, it really is so easy to drive.” Sponsored by the Jägermeister drinks during the 1989 season, it achieved some notable performances, including a second place overall at the ADAC round of Diepholz on 6th August 1989. Damaged in October 1989 in Mexico during the last race’s practice of the World Championship, it remained in its state until 1998 when it went under a complete restoration by prototype specialist Group C Limited in High Wycombe. Mechanically, the car has new fuel cells and an overhauled gearbox since 2009, and the engine has undergone a full rebuilt in 2011 and a Motec specification conversion, which gives a final output of over 670 horsepower at 8000 rpm. The car was delivered with several papers and certifications as well as three sets of BBS wheels for the different track conditions. Due certainly to the lack of racing success, it didn’t achieve its reserve price.
The other interesting Porsche 356 of the sale was a matching-numbers 1953 Reutter bodied Pré-A Coupé, chassis 51020 and engine number 546/P-31812. Fitted with the very typical one-piece V windscreen, a desirable characteristic of the late Pré-A models, and the 1.5 litre engine, this car had undergone a complete restoration in 2004 in a Pascha Red exterior over grey leather interior livery. It had only covered around 10’000 kilometers since and was most notably, eligible for the Mille Miglia. Lot 402 was sold for 149’500 € including buyer’s premium.
One of the very important lots of Les Grandes Marques du Monde au Grand Palais was this 1947 Delage 3 litre D6 Grand Prix / Sport biplace, lot number 362 and chassis 880003. Walter Watney, french businessman had decided to take over the famous french automotive manufacturer in 1935, and continued just after the terrible second world war. Chassis 880003 was part of just five cars built for its racing comeback. The car was engaged at numerous important races such as the Pau Grand Prix, the 24 Hours of Spa and the 24 Hours of Le Mans, with racing drivers Philippe Etancelin, Maurice Trintignant, Auguste Veuillet and Charles Pozzi behind the wheel. Thanks to their big 3 litre engines prepared by motorist Antoine Pinier, and their three carburetors, the D6 developed over 150 horsepower, and weighing only 900 kilograms, it offered impressive performances. It is certified by brand expert Hervé Charbonneaux that this example is in an exceptionally original state, and the only one retaining its original bodywork. Lot 362 achieved a final price of 1’092’500 € including buyer’s premium.
Although Bonhams had featured this Bugatti Type 35B as their main highlight lot, chassis 37371 started its life as a … late Type 37, the less desirable and less powerful four-cylinder engined version of the original Type 35, which are usually recognizable thanks to their spoke wheels. After an accident in september 1934, this car was transformed into a sort of Type 35 B thanks to a supercharged eight cylinders of Type 43. This precise car won several races in the hands of famous racing drivers including Lady Mary, which held a speed record at Shelsley Walsh and Prescott for over 35 years. More recently this car had undergone a restoration in 2007, finding back its original grey colour, as well as Type 51’s dampers. The only thing disappointing was Bonhams desire to sell this car as a Grand Prix Type 35, as it was clearly not, being a non-official factory transformation, which made this car successful from its modest Type 37 origins.
What is the best colour combination for a typical italian V12 Grand Tourer ? Well I’m sure some would argue that a classic red with beige leather would be the finest, but I would have to tell them wrong, with this 275 GTB. Being probably one of the best lots sold at Bonhams sale Les Grandes Marques au Grand Palais in 2014, chassis 10905 was sold new in Italy before being exported to the United States in the 1980s before going to Germany and Switzerland in 1985. Fully restored and inspected by marque expert Marcel Massini, and offered with the very desirable Classische Certification it was sold for 2.218 million €.
A car you will always be sure to find at one of the three Paris sales is a Mercedes-Benz 300 SL. This car has become such an indicator of the global collector car market that most experts are taking the value of either the 300 SLs Roadsters or the very desirable Gullwing coupés as reference for the market. In fact, even if you can’t find a suitable 300 SL to your taste during the three different car auctions, you can still have a look at Retromobile where I am sure you will find minimum one. Bonhams was offering this rather italian-coloured 1958 example which had had a single ownership for 42 years. Sold with its original hardtop, chassis number 198-042.8.500.075 was sold for 713’000 €.
Of course, Bonhams, at the difference of RM Auctions, offers much more cars, and in fact, more affordable cars for the collector’s wallet. But that’s not all which makes Bonhams sale Les Grandes Marques du monde au Grand Palais. There is of course the general situation, and the fact it offers both automobilia and motorbikes on sale in addition to all the cars, whereas RM Auctions sale only figures cars and Artcurial’s Retromobile sale offers cars and automobilia. So it is probably the place as well where you will find the most diverse clientele, with not only car passionate, but simple tourists here to admire the Grand Palais, and motorbike enthusiasts. Bonhams offered this year a whole lot of “affordable” classics including this E Type Jaguar Coupé and this Triumph TR3.
While Pininfarina is mostly known for designing Ferraris, people tend to forget that the italian designer worked for some other companies in its independent time, such as Peugeot, with the gorgeously beautiful 504 Cabriolet. In fact Peugeot was so pleased with the 504, that they hired the italian’s designer services for the later 205 GTI convertible and the 406 Coupé. Another car that caught our attention was the Porsche 356 Coupé Super 1600 alongside, in its very bright red exterior colour. And actually, we found a matching colour Porsche 911 T further in the back. This red was so bright in fact I recall thinking how close it could match the Rosso Corsa usually found on some other prancing horse’s car, namely Ferraris.
Inside the Grand Palais, the english auction house was proposing three barn find cars. two of these cars were italian, one was a Cisitalia Roadster, and the other one was an Alfa Romeo. The last one was a Facel Vega, from the french automotive manufacturer. More appropriately it was what was remaining of a Cisitalia Roadster, and what was remaining of a Touring-bodied Alfa Romeo. The Cisitalia had its engine apart, but which looked like to be in a not so bad shape, whereas the Alfa Romeo had had already undergone some restoration process with its bare aluminium body exposed to the elements. A nice and typical charming italian touch had even been added with a beautiful sticker on where used to be the rear number plate…
As one of the main difference between Bonhams sale Les Grandes Marques au Grand Palais and the other auctions held in Paris is to offer motorbikes on sale, we had a quick look at some of them. I must admit though that my knowledge of motorbikes is not as far as for automotives so I could tell very little about the different lots. From an aesthetical point of view however, this light blue custom was probably one of my favorite, with a level of amazing details that spoke for itself.
The Porsche 911 Speedster is rare. And beautiful. Inspired from the legendary 550 Speedster in which James Dean died, it has gained a lot of interest – and thus value – to car collectors recently. This Narrow body version, chassis WP0ZZZ 91 Z KS 15 24 38 had had only one owner from new, back in 1989 and had only covered 638 kilometers since then. Yes, that is around 45 kilometers per year. Or almost nothing. With only 171 units ever built, these elements do help to understand the over-average price of 310’500 € achieved by this car during the auction.
As mentioned before, Bonhams offers a whole bunch of automobilia lots during its Les Grandes Marques du monde au Grand Palais sale and some of the lots are worth a look. From sculptures to movie posters, from car accessories to decorative lamps, they always have loads of interesting stuff that you want to buy to put somewhere in your garage and decorate the place. The two lots that caught our eyes were these two paintings. The first one represents a Bugatti Type 35 in the original and most appropriate “Bleu Bugatti”, on some country roads which one would probably imagine being in France or in Italy. The second one represented the “Holy Grail” of automotive collection, a Ferrari 250 GTO in front of a rather standard garage of general mechanics.
One of the cars I was very interested to see, and actually to discover as I don’t recall seing any of these ever was this 1968 BMW 1600 GT Coupé. With its bodywork by Frua, notably famous for his works on the Maseratis A6s, it is as well one of the rarest post-war BMWs, as the production was in fact stopped after 1968. This particular example, offered with 33’000 kilometers on the odometer had already gone through a partial restoration between 2006 and 2013. It was sold for 25’300 €.
Some other typical lots included this 1963 Fiat repair truck, perfect for towing your Fiat 500 once it has any problems. Next to catch our attention was a Ford GT40 replica, which was hadn’t been made very well, we found. Still, just turn the head around and another nice line-up comes up to your vision !
Of course, when you see a Ferrari, you get excited. But I mean we’ve been used to see 575M and 550 Maranello so basically I didn’t pay much attention to it on first sight. Of course they are still incredibly beautiful although they have been launched almost 20 years ago now but seeing one wasn’t a revelation for myself. Although it is when I took a closer look at the interior that I understood the true interest of this car. It was one of the very rare 575M produced with the manual gearbox, and had been enjoyed by its two previous owner on 40’000 kilometers. It was sold with the original Ferrari certification, handbooks etc. but didn’t achieve its reserve price.
The very interesting car that caught our attention was this 1966 Ford Mustang Fastback Coupé. This car had been restored in 2010 and had received several modifications such as the Gunmetal grey paint to make it a look alike Eleanor, although missing the wide bodykit and the original Shelby GT500 engine. Bought back in 2005 in California it was brought back by its owner to Denmark and restored there.
If you’d want a fast italian sports saloon, what would you get ? A Maserati Quattroporte if you’d be rich, but if you were looking to something more affordable ? Well I’m pretty sure this 1966 Alfa Romeo Giulia Super would be a great match ! This “Bollo d’Oro” sedan was one of the 105-Series equipped with the “Super” 1.6 liter twin camshaft four cylinder engine developping no less than 112 horsepower, which allowed it to achieve a top speed of over 160 km/h. Impressive performances on a straight line these Alfa Romeo Giulias can be even more impressive on a mountain pass or on a track, where the excellent suspension, chassis and engine can burst to life and reveal all the charm of the Giulia. Chassis 105-26 AR 330454 has been restored in 2003 in its bianco spino with red interior and had only covered 8000 kilometers since. It was sold for 21’650 €.
If you were dreaming of owning a pre-war sports car at a very reasonable price, I would suggest an Amilcar. Often considered sadly as the Bugatti for people, Amilcars were much more than this. The CGS offered at Les Grandes Marques au Grand Palais during Retromobile in 2014 was a true opportunity to step in the pre-war car collector world. Although Amilcars could never pretend to the racing successes of Bugatti at the 24 Hours of Le Mans or any other major racing event, it succeeded at the local races, where owners would enjoy taking their cars for a spin. In fact the CGS was without a doubt the most successful model of the company. Although it wasn’t one of the more desirable “Surbaissé” versions, this particular model had been restored in 2000 and had had a one-ownership since 1982 which helped it achieve a sale price of 34’500 €. One of the unsold lots of the sale was this 1954 Chevrolet Corvette C1, equipped with the automatic gearbox, and the triple Carter carburettors six-cylinder engine abandoned the year after for the more powerful V8. It was restored in 2009 and just as in 1954 where Chevrolet almost stopped the production of the Corvette, this model remained into its current owner’s hands.
Apart from the Mercedes-Benz 300 SLs, which prices have climbed to incredible places considering its production, there are some other cars than can be used to measure the health of the car collector world. The Porsche 911, or the Jaguar E Type are in fact excellent indicators to predict whether the interest in collector cars is going higher or not. In fact, the E Type has been produced around 25 times more than the Mercedes but its value can fluctuate depending on the series, the engine and its state. It’s the middle range collector car to own, if you consider the 300 SL as being the top range and small collectible items such as the Fiat 500, the Citroën DS for being the low range collector cars. The Series 2 E Type born in 1968 to comply with the american regulations lost a lot of the original charm of Jaguar’s now legendary car. From a practical point of view though it switched to a more powerful 4.2 liter engine, a synchro gearbox easier to take in hand and a break servo more efficient. This US-Spec model was imported back to the United Kingdom in 2002, has had its engine revised since, and was sold for 48’300 €.
One of the cars that I was very keen to see and very impressed, especially as it was the first one I ever saw was an Avions Voisin C23 Berline, not pictured here. Specialized for its sleeve valve engines, it was a complete discovery for me and I must admit, I felt in love at first sight with this car. Although, coming to our interest was this Vauxhall 20/60 Type R Hurlingham Speedster which didn’t sell and this beautiful, fully restored by marque expert Lecoq, Delahaye 135M Cabriolet by Guilloré and its typical steering wheel.
Finally it was time to conclude this very nice visit to the Grand Palais, and my first one. I would say that though it is certainly not the most impressive sale in terms of cars, Bonhams does compensate thanks to the Grand Palais and the amazing atmosphere it does add to the sale. Moreover, as Les Grandes Marques du Monde au Grand Palais results might suggest, it is an incredible gathering of a large variety of automobiles, from all manufacturers and eras. So we’ll be back for sure next year.
